Hi! Barbara, here. The Quaking Poplar 🌳. I’ll explain more about that in my first post. I usually groan when someone asks me, “What do you do?” Sagittarians are like that. We tend to go in so many directions in life. It’s hard to pick just one. Or two. We have a deep thirst for knowledge (and Truth), and we study study study and then, often, move on to something else.
That being said, I’ve been an artist my entire life. I declared myself one when I was five years old and took my first art class in the basement of the Detroit Institute of Arts. I can still smell the tempera paint and clay. A deep and satisfying memory from 64 years ago! The greatest compliment someone could give me would be to say I paint like a child.
About twenty years ago, life took a turn, and I woke up one morning with a debilitating chronic pain condition. I went into study and healing mode, and eight years later, I left behind allopathic medicine and was fully immersed in holistic healing. I studied nutrition, Ayurveda, energy healing, and shamanism. I started seeing clients and writing a holistic health blog in 2009, but I was headed for another big change like the Sagittarian I am.
What I wanted to do was write. Not just about holistic health but about whatever was in my head and heart. I was already in my mid-sixties and had undergone massive life changes. The end of a thirty-year marriage. A move to NYC. Later on, the death of a beloved partner. So, my healing was on much more than just a physical level. It always is, isn’t it?
In November of 2020, smack dab in the middle of worldwide insanity, I finally took my adventurous Sagittarian sun and Nature-loving Taurus moon and moved from the NYC area (then Jersey City) to the country in New Hampshire, at the foot of the White Mountains, with lakes and rivers galore.
My moving mantra had been
“I want to live somewhere where I can walk out my door into the woods and see mountains.”
The Voice (as I like to call him) whispered to me during my first road trip in 16 years, “Go look in New Hampshire.”And this is what manifested.
Sometimes, I would add “and rivers and lakes, please” to my mantra.
So, here I am, in the bosom of Nature, with so many stories in my head. I feel like I’ve written umpteen books, but they have yet to make it into physical form. That’s ok. I’m excited about this new platform. Substack seems much easier than WordPress and Mailchimp and is a friendly place for writers (and their readers!) There’s a sense of community here.
So, if you think stories from a Crone might interest you, you can subscribe. Or check in periodically. I’ll be here. You know, the true meaning of that word is the Crown - emanating wisdom from the top of the head of a wise woman. I love that and feel I’ve worked hard to earn the title.
If you do subscribe, know that I’m a very erratic writer. The word “deadline” makes me break out into a cold sweat. So, rather than, say, an “email every Monday,” mine will be more of a surprise! :)
Welcome to my newsletter!
Much love,
Barbara
P.S. There will probably be astrology talk. And magic, of course!
P.P.S. If you’re on Instagram, you can find me @shewhositswithtrees
